Christian Photographers Community

Morning Devotional...



Daniel 1â€"2, 1 John 4

But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine, and he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself this way..
Daniel 1:8

In any newspaper of any size you will find a sports section. The larger ones devote an entire section to the subject and at times even have more than one. With the focus on performance and results, sometimes it’s lost on the reader what it took for athletes to reach their level of competitiveness. Saying it took diet and exercise is a very simplistic summary that leaves out an intangible, without which no athlete can excel. That intangible is resolve.

Resolve essentially is determination. It means that a person has a fixed purpose. The successful athlete has a determination that will enable him to endure the rigors of training in order to achieve at the desired level of performance.

If we are to excel in our spiritual lives, we need resolve as well. Many Christians are content with a low level of “performance” in the spiritual life. Their discipline is poor, inconsistent at best, and they fail to develop the maturity that God desires.

Daniel was a man of resolve. As a young man, promoted to the king’s palace, tapped for success, he “resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine”. He had a fixed purpose and the determination to accomplish that goal. Without resolve, the enticement of the delicacies would have entrapped him. He would have been defiled. But he was not, because he was determined.

Are you determined to be all that God wants you to be? It will mean refusing those things that defile you spiritually. Satan will test your resolve, as he did Daniel’s.

The spiritual resolve we need is not temporary like most New Year’s resolutions. It must be the consistent character of our life. Watch for times today that your resolve is tested, and then ask God to help you be like Daniel.


Title:      Resolve
Author:    Woodrow Kroll, Tony Beckett
Source:    Faith Walk

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Soni:  Resolve is an amazing character.  Thank you for the message today of Daniel's true resolve. 

QuoteThe spiritual resolve we need is not temporary like most New Year’s resolutions. It must be the consistent character of our life. Watch for times today that your resolve is tested, and then ask God to help you be like Daniel.
 

Morning greetings to all in the US and late day and evening greetings to those around the world!

Special greetings to Jenny. 

Carol

TBear:  Nice to see you this morning!

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Good Morning:
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Good morning, friends I pray the morning finds you well. I have many regrets, but I will never regret the day that I was saved. It is clearly the single most life changing event in my life. I thank God every day for it.

Good morning.  A short night for me.  I was up until 1 a.m. getting the pictures of the Victorian Dinner uploaded to the web.  You can see them here.  I have already received many email replies back.  Makes me happy to share these with others who were unable to attend.

Good morning all!  My, but we have many new members.  Jump right in there and let us know about you and we will tell you about ourselves. 

A gloomy day here in central Indiana.  Not too bad temperature wise...49°F.  I took some letters to the mailbox and noticed Ivalou sitting in her living room so visited with her until her phone rang.  I came on home to have my coffee before it evaporated!!  I hope to get off of here soon.  My eyes are still tired, blurry-eyed, buggy-eyed....fuzzy!

<)))><<~~<)))><<~~<)))><<~~<)))><<~~<)))
"Advice is like snow; the softer it falls, the deeper it sinks."

Hi All!!!  My name is Karma and I really am a member here (even a moderator, rumor has it), but I haven't been in here in like forever almost.  Or so it seems.

Quick update on the Shuford family --

*I am still very much pregnant.  (10 weeks to go)  Little girl.  Travis named her Kristi at the very beginning, and as we thought of names, we would mention them to him, and he wouldn't like them.  Finally came up with Tyra Kristiana and he said okay.  Tyra is my middle name, and Kristi is Travis's idea.  He also "gave permission" for us to call her Tyra, but he will still call her Kristi.  :-)

*Travis -- he's still a doll.  Hopefully, at some point, I can get some recent pictures of him up.  His big thing now is asking questions.  "Where does rain come from?"  "How did Kristi get in your stomach?" (God put her there :-)), "How did they make that mud?"  and today's -- "Where do bugs come from?"  The funniest one so far, though, was riding to church one night, and he was sniffing, and finally asked "Where do boogers come from?"  

*Nard -- Still working hard.  Trying to fix our Internet at home (the computer was fixed, praised the Lord), but the Internet still alludes us.  He's an awesome husband, just in case I haven't mentioned it in awhile. :-)


Christmas is coming (just in case you didn't know!), and that is cool.  I  love the holidays.   Our Christmas program at church is this Sunday.  The choir (I'm the director and nards is the piano player) has really come a long way and they sound awesome.  If any of you are in WNC on Sunday, I would invite you to come by!!! :-)

I'm going to go try to catch up on some paper work now.  Have an awesome day, and though I am "rare" I do think of you often.  

To all the "new" people that I haven't "met" yet -- I'll be back sometime, so stick around, it's great in here!!!

Great to see you posting, Karma, and greater to hear an update on the Shuford family.  Sounds like all of you are doing well and I love the name of Tyra Kristiana!!!  Of course, with a name like Etta Sue, I would love all unusual, unique names!!

glad to see you, Karmet--prayers that you and your family are well.

We know how busy you must be; so please don't overdo and whenever
you have a chance --visit.

We all have our times when we are busy, busy and other days --well,
we just like to be quiet.....

Now the snow that started in Jersey is turning to rain --boo, hoo.
I like the snow.

My daughter emailed me and said the snow is sticking in NE Penna.--so
that is good ---.


Going around to visit the other forums --talk to you later.

Take care --welcome new comers and as always,

Love in Christ,

Joyce

Afternoon!

Hi Karma!  Glad everyone is growing!

Today is Lila Mae's Birthday.  Yes, she is 3 years old. It just seems like yesterday she was born.  What a blessing she has been. 

We are heading out the door to take Lila Mae to her favorite place to eat.  Pizza Hut. hehehe.. I think she likes the quater machines more then the pizza.

Hope you all have a wonderful day!

Soni, sometimes the simplest things give the children the most pleasure.

My tests went okay and I have no signs of cancer. Thank you, God. Thank you, VERY MUCH!

And, my daughter took me. She sort of took after her mother and works 'way too many hours. Since she's the nurse in charge of a bone marrow transplant floor, working 7 pm to 7 am (and y'all know the hours I work!!!), we rarely see each other. Since this is her day off, we actually even had a while to do a bit of shopping and then had lunch at our favorite catfish restaurant. How lovely!

I feel like a "sinner" staying home from work today, but since I worked about 20 hours Friday and Saturday, maybe that will make up for this day off. 

I'm listening to the wonderful Old Time Christian Radio link that Pat gave us several months ago. Here is the link, in case you'd like to enjoy the old time christian songs. They just played "There Is Power In the Blood of the Lamb!"

http://www.oldchristianradio.com/

Y'all have a great day. When is Skief bringing his family to Nashville? Isn't it in the next few days?

Ruth Ann

December 6   

Trials and Pain: Faultfinders

But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of
the power may be of God and not of us. We are hard-pressed on every
side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair;
persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed. 
--2 Corinthians 4:7-9

Nowhere else in the entire New Testament is the humanity of the
great apostle [Paul] seen so clearly as when he staggers under the
cruel attacks of the anti-Paul bloc in the Corinthian church. His
sufferings are there the most poignant and nearest to the sufferings
of Christ because they are inward and of the soul. For always the
soul can suffer as the body cannot....

But from Paul and his afflictions we may learn much truth, some of
it depressing and some altogether elevating and wonderful. We may
learn, for instance, that malice needs nothing to live on; it can
feed on itself. A contentious spirit will find something to quarrel
about. A faultfinder will find occasion to accuse a Christian even
if his life is as chaste as an icicle and pure as snow. A man of
ill will does not hesitate to attack, even if the object of his
hatred be a prophet or the very Son of God Himself. If John comes
fasting, he says he has a devil; if Christ comes eating and
drinking, he says He is a winebibber and a glutton. Good men are
made to appear evil by the simple trick of dredging up from his own
heart the evil that is there and attributing it to them. 
We Travel an Appointed Way, pp. 79-80

"Deliver me today from faultfinders and those of a contentious
spirit. Satan has used these so often to discourage and attempt to
defeat me. Silence them today, for Your glory. Amen."

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Don't forget folks, to read Janet's email HERE.

 Â     Hi all,Hey I FINALLY HEARD FROM MY MOM SHE IS DOING GOOD AND HAVING THE BEST VAC IN HER LIFE.She says  it has taken her al this time to finally get to an internet cafe.She has one week left then she is headed home.22hr flight from where they are to Denver than on to Liberal and then home.She says she needs a bigger suitcase and also I am a bit jealous she went on an hr long elephant ride.I hope she took pictures of the elephants for me.I hopeshe found me something nice in the clothing area for  a christmas gift for me.She says clothes are cheap there.She also says shemay post somepics before coming home so guess we shall see.Well all for now I'll come back again and post more later on I have yet to read todays devotion and post on that,Johnis coming here soon and I am having someone help me do some cleaning tommorow  and check out how much work the room requires.He's not picky but then he is not a pig either so can't have my house looking like a pigsty either. Beth

 




A Saint
 
There were two evil brothers. They were rich, and used their money to keep
their evil ways from the public eye. They even attended the same church, and
appeared to be perfect Christians.

Then, their pastor retired, and a new one was hired. Not only could the new
pastor see right through the brothers' deception, but he also spoke well and
true, and the church membershhip grew in numbers. A fund-raising campaign was
started to build a new assembly.

All of a sudden, one of the brothers died. The remaining brother sought out
the new pastor the day before the funeral and handed him a check for the
amount needed to finish paying for the new building.

I have only one condition," he said. "At the funeral, you must say my brother
was a saint." The pastor gave his word, and deposited the check.

The next day, at the funeral, the pastor did not hold back. "He was an evil
man," he said. "He cheated on his wife and abused his family." After going on
like this, he finally concluded, "but, compared to his brother, he was a
saint."

That is awesome news, Ruth Ann!   (hug)

hello all,
i am still around i've been busy with basketball and things going on... We won our game friday night so we are 2-0... tomorrow we will make it 3-0.... well i'm off for awhile i have a banquet tonight for our academic bowl region ttyl
Sarah

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Hi everyone.  It is again evening before I have had a chance to get here and read the postings.  Most of my day was spent getting to, waiting for, and then returning from my doctor's appointment.  I had to wait an hour beyond my appointment time.  We did stop at a Jason's Deli to get a sandwhich for lunch.  They said on the menu the sandwhich was for two but we brought half of it home as it was "really" big.  It was raining when I got up but that had stopped by the time we had to make the trip and the traffic in either direction was relatively light.  It is now getting very foggy and they have a fog alert out for our area tonight.  Glad I don't have to get out this evening and will be happy to have our daughter safely back in the house. 

It sure is good to see the e-mail from Janet.  This sounds like a trip of a lifetime and know she should have some great things to share with us when she and Darrell return.  Beth, sure you were relieved to hear from her and know that all is going well.  The time before John gets there to visit you has to be getting short.  John, you haven't given us a time report for a few days. 

Chris, I liked your story about the evil brothers.

Ruth Ann, that was wonderful news and the words we want to hear the doctor say after having such a medical procedure.  It sounds like you had a nice time with your daughter. 

Sonja, happy birthday to Lila Mae.  Hope you all have a fun time at the pizza place.  Thanks for the devotional message today.

Joyce, it shouldn't be long before you will be seeing the snow in your area.  I enjoy seeing the pictures but can live without seeing it personally.

Etta Sue, your site for the Victorian dinner must really be getting the traffic.  I have tried several times to get to it and get a "site temporarily unavailable" message.  I will keep trying but please add the link again in a day or two. 

Karma, sure nice to read your posting and to know that you are doing so well.  It sounds like Travis is getting pretty excited.  He is certainly at a fun age and it is so much fun to see the little minds developing and questioning the world around themselves.  There is so much to discover.

Tbear, I liked your listing for staying young.  A lot of wisdom contained in the list.

Welcome Alrose to CP.  Also want to welcome Darrell and evershine to CP.

Papa John, glad you found your brother-in-law improved. 

Hi Carol, Logar, Marilyn, Pat and all who may stop by later this evening.

as of this posting it's 11 days 19 hours 4 minutes and 10 seconds, and I'm sure Beth is as anxious as I am.

Hi everyone.  I haven't posted in quite a while!  Good to see all the new people joining! 

Etta Sue, I couldn't get your link to work for me either - i.e. it came up as "unavailable at this time" for me too.

Glad to see Karma is doing well and thanks for the update.

I am now working full time as a nurse.  Don't have near as much time on my hands as before!    

A week ago, I went down to Mexico on a mission trip.  Do we still post pics on this site, or do we post to the photo site instead?  I'm confused!

Pat gave me the link to a picture of the Blessing of the Bikes posted by a member, and I commented on the picture, but I don't know if they would see my post over there...

Wishing everyone a blessed Christmas!
Shalom.

Ruth Ann, please don’t feel like a “sinner” for taking the day off.  I take every day off.  I often say there isn’t much difference between being retired and being unemployed.  Seems like we have plenty to do but there isn’t any payday.  At least not in this life.  So glad you got a good report.  I hope that if Skief comes to Nashville that I can meet him too.

Today has been a rainy day here and it is still raining and is supposed to keep on through most of the night.

Chris and Margit, the pastor outsmarted the two evil brothers.   Ha!

Rom 6:1-4
1   What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase?
2   By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?
3   Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?
4   We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.  (NIV)

--- Papa John          <)))><<   
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Yes, Pinkie, the folks will see the comments over in our Gallery.  I'm hoping that many will also post in our Photos Here area by linking to the photos in the Gallery but whatever.  Both sites are on Christian Photographers!

Thanks so very much for posting and thanks for checking in.  Yes, we've been getting a few new ones lately and it's such a blessing to see.



Everyone, thanks for clicking on the Google Ads.  If you are viewing photos, you'll see ads in that section to do with cameras, etc. so please click.

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I came home from work today to a spare room  ceiling leaking in two places and a bunch of stuff very wet. It is my storage room. A big puddle on the floor. Also found another leak in the corner where my computer sits. It is a good thing  had a bunch of papers laying on my printer I had to disconnect everything move my desk and set up towels and buckets it is leaking so dark brown stuff. Called my landlord but there is nothing he can do in this rain. So much for a leaking house trailer. He coated the roof last year  with waterproofing. So much for the waterproofing huh? The landlord has told me that I have to move in March or April and he will fix the roof  as soon as the rain stops.

Etta Sue  I looked at your photo gallery of the Victorian Dinner. Beautiful photos and settings.

Blessings

I think I see the beginnings of a little NASHVILLE BASH!!!


Marilyn, that's terrible!  I'm so sorry about your leaky roof.  That's just awful.

It was just last year that my bedroom leaked so bad with the first rain in August that Gitsie got wet under my bed at night and caught pneumonia and was so sick that I had to let her go to Rainbow Bridge. That was so sad I had only been here for 2 weeks.
Pat Ileft a message for you in What's on the Menu? Thread.